Part Four Now we began our journey to America again after having lain 10 days in England for repairs. And as soon as we had gotten out from the City, prayers and songs were heard from several places on the ship. We began to traverse the Channel but with the wind from the south and a contrary current and tacking in that narrow belt we came close during the night to running aground (for the accident we had had was the first but not both the first and last) even though we had a pilot aboard. The Channel is a difficult place to pass through, banks and skerries everywhere. After 32 hours of our departure from the City we had not come further than ¾ miles from Dover and because of calm and a contrary current it was necessary to anchor outside Folkestone that is close to Dover. Monday afternoon at 6 o'clock a 20 month old boy, Søren S. from Bergen died, his parents' only child. And 12 o'clock the next day he was placed on a bier on the flag hatch for the burial. First we sang the first two verses of hymn 623, then the coffin was lowered over the side by 4 sailors and stopped for the Captain to conduct the graveside ceremony. Then it was sunk in the sea but the poor parents were not in condition to see it done, such a burial we were not used to and we were all deeply moved. After the burial we sang the last two verses of the same hymn. At 4 o'clock in the afternoon of May 15th we passed Ireland and set off on the Atlantic but the Bay of Biscay had already frightened many and several women were in bed because of seasickness. There was help for this, the best being getting them on deck so they could get fresh air. But that was not easily done, most resisted that treatment but that was of no use. The health conditions had to, first and foremost, be attended to and if a husband could not obey the order to bring his wife up on deck he could get two other men to bring her on deck by force and they walked with her arm in arm until they believed she had breathed enough of that curative medicine (for there was no doctor aboard) which could be obtained without payment, they let her go and then took another out of her bed, whether she hit or bit them - and that they did. They also had to hold concerts on deck to entice them up but the fact they were started exclusively to help the seasick was not known by most and those who had to be dragged up by force the day before now came up on their own. The comedies that were played in the middle of the Atlantic were "Kongen og Dronningen" played in French, "Manden med Buxen i Læ", "Henrik tilhest paa Drommedaren" and "Viseknut paa Ruffe med Silkhatten" that were a strong enough magnet to pull those up on deck long before the performance time was posted on the kitchen door. In Dover, a new lock was purchased for the provision compartment for which no one else had a key. And now that the quartermaster had received extra provisions worth several hundred dollars to distribute but who did not wish to tempt anyone to eat themselves sick from the good and unaccustomed delicacies, he had to distribute them in instalments. It became necessary to choose two fellow-passengers as assistants, A. S. from Sogn and J. F. from Hardanger since he was the judge in all matters it was duty to settle conflicts over "this and that" all day long and to weigh and measure the Captain's provisions and keep an accountiing of it. And with assigning the work crews for each day as to which of the 80 was to be sent to the deck each morning at 6 o'clock and keeping his own diary he was in the saddle from 5 in the morning to 10 in the evening, he scarcely had enough time left over to eat. But who saw him surly or angry? Even though he served without pay and just voluntarily. On the 4th after leaving Dover and after consultation with the Captain he began to distribute the gifts we received from our friends in Dover but we did not get very much that day. On the 10th day after departing Dover, about 10:30 at night we were surprised by a storm and while we were taking in 7 sails, suddenly a schooner came right for us and since our lanterns on the port side had been blown out by the wind we had to, contrary to rules, fall away to make the starboard lights visible and by falling off we avoided collision but the ships' sails almost touched as we passed each other. Again we were so close to an accident for the third time, nor was it the last; we awoke by the noise since everything on the deck began to shift during the heeling. Pat immediately sprang to the deck and remained there until 1 A.M. On Ascension Day we also had a severe storm and the boxes and chests broke loose from their fastenings in the tweendecks and danced back and forth on the floor so violently that we almost did not know how to get them fastened again without breaking the legs of those who were brave enough to go and fix them. We had to reef 9 sails immediately and the fore topgallant sail was torn in pieces. The 25th May, the 6th Sunday after Easter there was also a storm and the day after as well, and both days the waves came down into steerage and there was no thought of getting anything cooked those days. One man who dared to go up on deck had a narrow escape from a wave that came onto the deck while he was trying to reach a certain place and almost washed him overboard. The wave took him across the deck to the railing port on the other side but he landed at the side of the port. On Whit Sunday there was nothing but prayers and hymns all day and on Whit Monday we conversed, first by signal then by voice, with an American ship on the way to Philadelphia that departed Liverpool the day we arrived at Dover. The 4th June, 26 days after we left Dover, we came to the Newfoundland banks at 4 in the afternoon and when we took soundings the depth was 53 fathoms. We fished with 7 lines and caught 4 fish at 15 pounds each. The following day we saw 3 icebergs but they were far away. At 5 in the morning the 9th June, the 26th day after we left Dover, we saw land. On the 15th June, the 52nd day after we left Bergen, we were 40 miles from Quebec and had entered the mouth of the St. Lawrence River. At 5 in the evening we raised a flag for a pilot but no one came. At 10 we lit flares made of cotton dipped in alcohol and 15 minutes later an old greybeard came aboard, 30 miles from Quebec, to conduct us to our destination. The next day we could see 54 ships in the river. We raced the Hindostan more than any other ship. At 9:30 in the evening June 17th we came to the quarantine station (Grosse Ile) and at 7 in the morning the examining doctor came aboard and then when he first saw that we had been in Dover we were finished there. Because of the contrary current we had to anchor 2 miles from the island from 12 to 7 in the evening, now 4½ miles from Quebec and again 2 miles from Quebec. And on the 63rd day after leaving Bergen, Friday morning June 19th at 4:30 we raised anchor for the last time. We travelled as fast as a bird with a good wind and arrived in Quebec at 6 o'clock. And when the anchor hit bottom there were out doubt a mass of thanks to the Lord concluding with - Amen. And as soon as the anchor hit bottom the Captain ordered the quartermaster and the pilot down to the salon, where he pulled the cork out of a bottle of good wine for he had great joy that morning and without doubt greater than ours even though it was greatest day we had had in all our lives. He, who had never carried emigrants before, had brought this most priceless cargo to America and who four times altogether was threatened with failure but still brought still them to their destination. All of us who suffered with him and you who read Valkyrien's story will also understand, whether you have been in distress at sea or not. We had not lain in Quebec for long before two written messages came from the fort and immediately after there came a customs officer with a proper guard. At 10 o'clock the Captain went ashore with our documents and at 2 o'clock the agent came to receive our tickets from Bergen and issue us railway passes to go further. He had his interpreter with him but they were not the nicest of people, which Pat knew very well and who had to battle with them, altogether 7 times until we came to Milwaukee. And the other passengers knew quite well that there was among them a Nils L. from Lærdal who asked Pat to accompany him to the salon and speak on his behalf to the agent. Because of a lack of money he could not get a ticket in Bergen to the place he wished be but had a steamer ticket that a friend B. in America had sent him but could not use because his family was bigger than his friend knew. Now he wished to know from the agent whether if he could use to go from here to his destination. The agent could not permit this because it was not the same company and the agent certainly could not be faulted for that. Since N. could not go further than his ticket allowed, he gave the agent the ticket he received in Bergen. Then the agent discovered that he had no ticket blanks left so 20 passengers could not get their tickets that day but after saying that they would get them in the morning, he went ashore. When he came aboard the next day to hand out the tickets, Nils again went to ask Pat to accompany him to the agent because he trusted him. The agent asked for Nils' ticket and Pat said, "You got it yesterday." "That is a lie!" said the Englishman rather sharply. "No, it is not," said Pat. There was a continuing wrangling (*) and Pat finally found the ticket and things were straightened out for a very grateful Nils. Finally the day came that we could say farewell to the Valkyrien and our friends aboard it with whom, like a brotherhood, we had shared both sorrow and joy in the 9 weeks from Bergen to Quebec. Since both the officers and crew, who were all Norwegian and were as kind and amiable people as the Lord makes, it was not easy to leave them either. But 2:30 in the afternoon the 20th June we said farewell to the Valkyrien and its crew, who in our honour had raised 19 flags and saluted us with hurrahs without end. Just as we stepped aboard the steamship that took us ashore we gave the sailors 13 daler (there were 11 of them) in tips and besides we bequeathed them filth and abandoned articles below decks. As payment for his 64 days of work, Pat received a hearty thanks from the Captain for what he had done for him and we left the Valkyrien, half smiling and half weeping. With the Captain, who for reason of friendship wished to accompany us to Montreal, we boarded the train at 6 in the evening and arrived in Montreal at 6 in the morning, where we stopped for 15 minutes. The Captain went through all the cars and bade all farewell with a firm handshake and good wishes. Afterward, he asked Pat to come out on the platform and told him that one night on the Atlantic, they had been close to death that we knew nothing about and that he had strongly ordered the crew not to let us know about since we had been frightened enough. While in the dark of night the carpenter, the oldest sailor at about 60, was sleeping and had a dream that a steamer was approaching straight at us and would cut us amidships. He awoke from the dream not believing it was true but he could not rest before he went up on deck - and what did he see? Yes, just what he dreamt and there was just enough time to call to the helmsman to turn hard leeward. The steamship and the Valkyrien passed each other at no more than a stone's throw apart. (*wrangling is a very abbreviated term for a lengthy and convoluted account of little relevance and was omitted)